Friday, August 21, 2026

March 2026

In early March, we went to Patrick's choir concert.
The girls from Cor Jesu joined them and Patrick was next to our friend's daughters.
Jim's band played at a fish fry one Friday night.
Saturday night was the Daddy-Daughter Dance.  It is Maggie's favorite night of the year.  Her friend's dad was out of town, so she joined Jim and Maggie.
The girls were darling in their floral dresses and jean jackets. 
These two are the sweetest!

I'm not sure who looks forward to this night more. 

They have so much fun together.

Ice cream afterwards is a fun tradition!
While the girls were at the Daddy Daughter dance, I went to Mother-Son Trivia with Patrick and his friends (and their moms).
Charlie's flag football team played a game for fun agains their friends on a gorgeous Sunday.
We got new hardwood floors!
Patrick went to Ireland for spring break. Jim, Charlie, Maggie, and I went to Scottsdale.  We stayed with my friend Connie.  One of the first things Maggie did was put on her swimsuit to check out the pool.
Jim and I went on a few (hot) hikes.  He is recovering from a herniated disc so we did not do anything too strenuous. 

It was so hot and dry, but we had some great views.
A friend recommended Coach House to Jim so we stopped by.  It was super crowded, so we settled for a picture in front instead of going inside.
We took the kids to an Arizona State baseball game on St. Patrick's Day.

Connie does NOT like mascots.  She was very brave to get in this picture with us.
We introduced the kids to In-N-Out.
We visited the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) and saw some pretty cool instruments.



Jim and Maggie played a duet on the piano in the lobby.

Many days started with a grapefruit picked from Connie's backyard. On this morning, I enjoyed it on the patio with an iced vanilla latte. What a great way to start a day!
We took the kids swimming at the pool in Connie's complex.
Another evening, we went to a Cincinnati Reds Prospects vs. San Francisco Giants Prospects game.

We had a great week! Charlie and Maggie had fun in AZ, but also were excited for the plane rides.
Back home, Maggie and a friend hiked at Laumeier Sculpture Park while her sister was at track practice. 

We went to game night at Matt and Sue's.  So fun!
Patrick was supposed to get home from Ireland on Sunday at the end of spring break.  There were some hiccups and he ended up spending a night in Boston. He got back mid-morning on Monday and came straight to school.  It was so good to see him again!
We finished March with our first Cardinal game of the year!

Thursday, August 13, 2026

February 2026

Charlie had his first SLUH event - a welcome to the class of 2030. Here is a picture of him with some of the other boys from his grade school.
I accompanied a group of students to the Arrupe Leader's Summit in North East, MD.  It was bitterly cold. Here is a view of the Chesapeake from my room.  
While I was in Maryland, Jim took the kids to Milwaukee to see Jack compete in a curling competition. 

I was bummed to miss it, but heard it was very cool to see.
It was so cold I didn't even want to step outside the conference center, but I was treated to many cool views from the windows.
Our group did brave the weather briefly for a picture. 
Over President's Day weekend, we went to Echo Bluff State Park with Matt and Sue.  We went to mass at a small church nearby and the boys helped rearrange the altar afterwards. 
We drove to my cousins' farm one day.

If there are rocks and a river, you can bet you will find us skipping rocks.



We enjoyed a hike in the state park.

We had beautiful weather for February. 

I wish Jack could have joined us.
This is a cool picture Jim took of the lodge.

We completed this puzzle.
A cute selfie of Jim and his favorite daughter:
One weekend, I joined the rugby team for an all-day retreat.
While I was at the retreat, Jim, Patrick, and Charlie went to a campout on a family's farm.
The boys got to throw axes.

They cooked a delicious dinner.
Maggie and Charlie competed in the robotics competition. 




These girls made a croissant out of clay for one of their challenges. 
Patrick was helping another school's robotics club, so we were happy to see him.  Doesn't Charlie look happy?
Owen helped with the robotics club at Charlie's and Maggie's school.
After the robotics competition, I took Maggie to her basketball game. Her coach couldn't be there, so I was the stand-in coach.  We only had four players.  I did the best I could.
Then, after her basketball game, she was a cantor at 5pm Mass.  It was a busy day for Maggie!